On October 1, 2020 United States Senators Jim Inhofe (R-OK) and Bob Menendez (D-NJ) (co-chairs of the Senate Taiwan Caucus) sent a letter encouraging U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to begin the formal process of negotiating a comprehensive trade agreement with Taiwan. The letter was signed by Senator Jim Risch (R-ID) and 47 other Senate colleagues.
The US-Taiwan Bilateral Trade Agreement Coalition welcomes this statement from the U.S. Senate, and hopes that USTR Lighthizer will consider Taiwan for priority BTA negotiations.
The senators wrote: “As we look to advance our initiative for a free and open Indo-Pacific, we believe thatnow is the time to establish trade agreements with like-minded countries in the region. Given their record as a longstanding economic partner and security ally, we highly encourage you to begin the formal process of negotiating a comprehensive trade agreement with Taiwan.”
Source: Senator Jim Inhofe Press Release
“We are confident that a U.S.-Taiwan trade agreement would promote security and economic growth for the United States, Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific as a whole,” The senators concluded. “We urge the administration to prioritize a comprehensive trade agreement with Taiwan, and we look forward to working with you to secure this framework.”
Source: Senator Jim Inhofe Press Release